The Toad Boss, Lend Me Some Oil?

The morning mist curled through the bottomless gorge, the damp air carrying the scent of soil and rotting leaves.

This was a dangerous area outside Konoha. Two steep mountain peaks looked as though they had been cleaved apart by a giant axe, with a bottomless chasm between them. The faint roar of a raging river came from below.

"Hey, Pervy Sage, why did you bring me to a place like this?"

Naruto Uzumaki stood at the edge of the cliff and cautiously peeked down. He immediately recoiled in fright, his legs going weak. "If we fall from here, we'll definitely die! And weren't we supposed to be practicing the Summoning Technique?"

"Hmph. It's precisely because we're training that we need an environment like this."

Jiraiya stood on a protruding rock with his arms folded across his chest, his red outer robe snapping in the mountain wind. His expression was unusually serious, without any of his usual frivolity.

"Naruto, you may have learned hand seals and Chakra control these past few days, but as you've seen, all you can summon are tadpoles."

Jiraiya pointed at Naruto's stomach. "There are two sources of Chakra sleeping inside you. One is your own, while the other belongs to that fox. If you want to summon a true giant, that pitiful amount of Chakra you have now is nowhere near enough. You need to learn—how to 'borrow money' from that fox."

"Borrow money?" Naruto looked utterly confused.

"That's right. It's the survival instinct that only erupts when you're on the brink of death." A sharp glint flashed in Jiraiya's eyes. "Only at a true moment of life and death can you touch that immense power."

Under a crooked-necked tree not far from them, Ye Tian sat on a small folding stool, still holding the thermos cup that never left his side.

He appeared to be leisurely drinking tea and watching the show, but in truth, every nerve in his body was stretched to the limit.

"Putting him in mortal danger so he can find a way to live?"

Ye Tian narrowed his eyes at the master and disciple by the cliff, silently calculating. In the cultivation world, this is called a Desperate Breakthrough. The principle isn't wrong—extreme fear can stimulate one's potential—but this old pervert's method is way too crude. What if Naruto's head doesn't click in time and he really falls to his death? Wouldn't the finale of Naruto have to air early?

To prevent such a "worldline collapse" tragedy, Ye Tian kept his left hand hidden inside his wide sleeve, two fingers tightly pinching a pale-yellow talisman.

[Mid-Grade Spell · Wind-Controlling Talisman]

This was the life-saving trump card he had rushed to make overnight. If Naruto fell and failed to react, he would immediately activate the talisman and turn into a gust of wind to sweep that idiot back up.

"Even if he's the savior, he can't joke around with his life..." Ye Tian sighed, feeling as if he had worried himself sick.

"Alright, are you ready?" Jiraiya suddenly asked.

"Ready for wha—Waaaah!"

Before Naruto could finish speaking, an enormous force struck his chest. Jiraiya actually raised his foot without hesitation and kicked the unprepared Naruto straight into the bottomless abyss!

"This is—death training!" Jiraiya shouted.

Watching Naruto's figure rapidly shrink and vanish into the thick mist, Ye Tian nearly dropped his thermos.

"You actually kicked him?!"

Ye Tian sprang to his feet and rushed to the edge of the cliff in a few strides. His Divine Sense activated like radar and shot down into the abyss.

Within his Divine Sense, Naruto's body was plummeting in free fall. The wind howled, gravity tugged at him. That extreme sensation of weightlessness and terror of death were violently battering Naruto's mental defenses.

"You have to make it, idiot..."

Ye Tian stared downward, his Wind-Controlling Talisman already glowing faintly with Spiritual Energy, ready to activate at any moment.

Meanwhile, within the abyss.

Naruto's consciousness space.

A massive iron gate stood in a dark sewer, where the cold sound of dripping water echoed.

Naruto stood before the sealing gate, looking at the enormous Nine-Tailed Fox inside, as huge as a mountain. Those crimson vertical pupils brimmed with hatred and evil. A single glance was enough to make one's soul tremble.

"Hey! Fox!"

Though Naruto was afraid, he thought of his situation outside and gathered his courage to shout, "If you don't want to die, lend me some power! If I fall to my death and take you with me, it won't do either of us any good!"

"Hmph... that Fourth's seal..."

Nine-Tails let out a low, rumbling laugh, his voice like thunder. "Interesting little brat. You dare threaten this old man? Still... you're right. If you die, I'll have quite a bit of trouble too."

Boom!

A torrent of red Chakra erupted through the gaps in the iron gate and instantly enveloped Naruto's consciousness.

Outside.

Ye Tian, who had been keeping Naruto locked onto with his Divine Sense, suddenly sensed an aura that made his scalp go numb.

"It's here!"

Ye Tian's pupils contracted sharply.

In his perception, the bottom of the abyss, which had contained only a faint Chakra presence, suddenly erupted with a terrifying source of energy—scorching, violent, and filled with the desire to destroy!

That energy was so powerful that even the surrounding Natural Energy became chaotic.

This feeling... it's like a dormant volcano suddenly erupting! Ye Tian was deeply shaken. Is this Nine-Tails' Chakra? Even from this far away, I can feel the malice that can corrode Meridians. Without a special cultivation method to filter it, an ordinary Cultivator would probably suffer a Qi deviation after taking a single breath.

Then—

"SUMMONING JUTSU!!!"

A furious roar rose from the bottom of the abyss.

Booom—!!!

An earth-shattering explosion rang out, as if a massive bomb had detonated at the bottom of the gorge.

The thick mist filling the canyon was instantly blown away by the tremendous shockwave. A visible white blast wave shot skyward, carrying shattered rocks and broken trees as it soared into the heavens!

"Cough, cough!"

Ye Tian hurriedly retreated several steps, forming a hand seal with one hand and setting up a thin Spiritual Energy shield before himself to block the fierce wind mixed with demonic aura.

"Good heavens... that blast probably shook the earth veins apart."

Once the dust settled.

An enormous figure that made it hard to breathe suddenly appeared within the canyon.

It was an incomparably gigantic red toad, with a massive pipe clenched in its mouth, a short sword hanging at its waist, and a short coat emblazoned with the character for "Gamble" on its body. One foot rested against a cliff wall while the other stood in the river, making it seem like a moving hill.

Gamabunta of Mount Myoboku had arrived!

And atop Gamabunta's head, the tiny blond boy lay spread-eagled, gasping for breath. Though his face still showed lingering fear, it was also filled with the wild joy of surviving disaster.

"I... I did it!" Naruto cheered weakly.

"Nicely done!" Jiraiya stood at the cliff's edge, smiling with satisfaction.

However, Ye Tian's attention was not on Naruto at all.

His gaze was fixed firmly on the giant toad. More precisely, it was fixed on the layer of crystal-clear liquid with a faint oily sheen secreted from Gamabunta's bumpy skin.

"Toad Oil!"

Ye Tian's eyes instantly lit up like searchlights. "That's Mount Myoboku's specialty Toad Oil! In the cultivation world, this kind of demon beast grease, rich in water- and wood-aspected Spiritual Energy, is a top-tier medicinal catalyst for refining Flesh-Regenerating Bone-Rebuilding Pills and Vajra Body-Tempering Fluid!"

"This giant toad usually can't even be found on Mount Myoboku. It finally came out today, so I have to get some!"

Ye Tian's heart began pounding violently.

At that moment, the giant toad seemed to notice something.

It slowly turned its huge yellow eyes, its gaze passing over Jiraiya before landing on the frail-looking youth standing at the cliff's edge.

"Hm?"

Gamabunta exhaled a cloud of smoke and frowned.

As an immortal beast that had lived for centuries, his perception far surpassed that of ordinary shinobi. Yet in his senses, this sickly human brat was giving off an aura that made him profoundly uncomfortable.

It was not Chakra.

It was a kind of... oppressive force, like that of a natural predator.

Like a wild beast in a forest encountering a hunter holding a rifle, or... encountering a terrifying existence that specialized in refining demon beasts for personal use.

"Jiraiya."

Gamabunta's voice rumbled like muffled thunder. "Who is that brat who looks like he's about to die? Why does my back feel a little cold whenever I look at him?"

Jiraiya froze for a moment and turned to look at Ye Tian.

The instant Ye Tian sensed Gamabunta's gaze, he immediately put on an award-winning performance.

"Cough, cough... cough cough cough!"

He clutched his chest and began coughing violently, his body swaying as though the blast wave had injured his internal organs.

"Wh-what a huge toad... it scared me to death... I have megalophobia... cough cough..."

Ye Tian's face was pale, his legs trembling—pretending to tremble—and he even shuffled backward, looking completely terrified out of his wits.

"..."

Gamabunta narrowed his eyes.

Was it an illusion?

This brat did indeed look weak, and the amount of Chakra in his body was pitifully low.

"Forget it. Maybe I just woke up and my senses are off." Gamabunta stopped paying attention to Ye Tian and turned to scold Naruto atop his head. "Hey! Brat! Did you summon me? Are you tired of living?"

After a round of noisy bickering, Naruto finally exhausted all his Chakra and passed out completely.

Though Gamabunta was stubborn with his words, he still acknowledged Naruto's perseverance. He jumped back to the cliff top with Naruto and tossed him to Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya, if you let little brats summon me whenever they please again, I won't be so polite next time."

Gamabunta snorted and prepared to dismiss the Summoning Jutsu and return.

"Wait! Toad Boss!"

At that moment, a weak voice suddenly rang out.

Leaning on a cane, Ye Tian trembled as he walked over. He held an empty glass bottle that he had somehow pulled out, staring at Gamabunta with a face full of admiration.

"Um... cough cough... I've never seen such an imposing Summoning Beast."

Ye Tian looked up, his eyes full of little stars—at the peak of his acting. "So this is the legendary Toad Boss? So cool! Um... I heard that Toad Boss's skin is so smooth and supple because you use some kind of miraculous skincare oil... I... I have a small request..."

Gamabunta froze.

He had lived for so long that many people had praised his strength, but this was the first time anyone had praised his "smooth and supple skin."

"Ahem... you've got a good eye, brat." Gamabunta became a little smug, and even showed a hint of pride on his huge toad face. "What? You want an autograph too?"

"No, no... cough cough..."

Ye Tian raised the bottle in his hand, looking humble. "I'm asking for a little of your... sweat, that oil. I'm a doctor researching a medicine for skin diseases... If I could use your 'immortal oil' as a catalyst, I could save many people."

"Toad Oil?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Brat, that stuff isn't something you can use carelessly."

"Just a little will do!" Ye Tian said sincerely.

Gamabunta looked at this "frail" youth who was willing to lower himself before him in order to save people—though it was all fabricated—and his mood greatly improved.

"Since it's for healing and saving people, then I'll give you some."

Gamabunta extended his huge claw, wiped it over the bumps on his back, and flicked it lightly toward Ye Tian's bottle.

Splash!

A lump of thick grease as large as a washbasin flew over.

Ye Tian reacted swiftly, catching the lump with an extremely ingenious soft force and precisely storing it in the bottle. In truth, he had used the spatial folding of his Storage Bag to make it fit. Not a single drop spilled.

"Thank you, Toad Boss! You truly are a kind and merciful living Bodhisattva who saves the suffering... Ah, no, a living toad sage!"

Ye Tian capped the bottle, his hands trembling with excitement.

He had struck it rich!

This was high-purity Toad Oil! Once he brought this bottle back and refined it a little, it would be top-grade material whether he used it to refine Vajra Pills to strengthen the body or to draw Fireproof Talismans!

"Hmph, I'm leaving."

Gamabunta was thoroughly pleased by the praise. With a poof, he transformed into white smoke and vanished.

Ye Tian was left hugging the bottle, grinning like a cat that had successfully stolen fish.

"Hey, Ye Tian."

Jiraiya approached with the unconscious Naruto on his back, looking suspiciously at Ye Tian. "That technique you used to catch the oil just now... you were awfully skilled. You don't seem like a patient at all."

"Cough cough... it was survival instinct."

Ye Tian immediately stuffed the bottle into his clothes, covered his mouth, and coughed weakly. "For healing... I practiced... cough cough, Lord Jiraiya, is Naruto alright?"

"He only passed out from exhaustion." Jiraiya looked at Naruto, then at Ye Tian, and smiled meaningfully. "Forget it. Everyone has secrets. Since the special training is over, we should head back. The official selection matches are in two days. I hope this brat wakes up by then."

"Yeah... the official selection matches..."

Ye Tian followed behind Jiraiya, touching the warm Toad Oil hidden in his clothes. A gleam of anticipation flashed in his eyes.

"With this jar of oil, plus the Kubikiribōchō Fragment and Shukaku's Sand I got earlier..."

"I can finally begin refining my Five-Element Defensive Artifact."

"When the time comes, let's see who can break my 'turtle shell' in the arena."

As the sun set in the west, it stretched the shadows of the three of them long across the ground.

And within seemingly peaceful Konoha, a storm capable of overturning the Shinobi World was quietly brewing.